Delivery by tricycle blossoms in Portland

Portland is one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the United States. But the city's biking culture isn't just changing how people get to work, it's transforming an industry. More specifically, the shipping industry.

Instead of massive freight trucks blocking bike lanes and congesting already crowded streets, a company is growing in Portland to make deliveries more sustainable. Using electric tricycles, B-Line Sustainable Urban Delivery, has made an estimated 30,000 deliveries for about a dozen clients throughout Portland, The New York Times reports.

B-Line is the latest example of the greening of a traditional industry. The company’s cargo boxes are comparable in size to a small commercial van, but, unlike vans, the trikes don’t emit carbon dioxide or cause traffic jams at delivery stops.

Using a fleet of six tricycle, the company is on pace to see revenue around $400,000 this year, with 125 daily deliveries, according to the Times. But whether the tricycle delivery service can catch on outside of the bike-loving city is yet to be seen. The company's founder is currently working to get investors on board to bring the service to other cities.